The Things they Did to Me When I Was Small
by BrightBlueHearse
Summary: A quick glimpse at Eddie Gluskin's childhood.


1972  
The Suburbs of Denver Colorado on a Sunday night in early autumn.

A small boy, five or six in age, rolled a little toy Hotwheels car along the carpet in his dimly lit living room. The glow of the small TV screen lit up the boy's pale face. A rerun of Leave it to Beaver played on the screen; his favorite show. For some reason watching the family just be a family on the program soothed him. He playfully chanted "Vroom! Vroom!", blue eyes aglow with imagination as he raced the toy car along the imaginary track on the floor.

"Eddie, don't sit so close to the TV. You'll go blind." A woman in nursing scrubs scolded him as she walked into the room, his mother. Even with the obvious look of exhaustion on her face as she pulled on her cigarette and walked towards the couch, Eddie found her features pretty and pleasant. He inwardly wished he more closely resembled her, but sadly his father's genes dominated his physical makeup. He scooted back a few feet as instructed then continued to play.

She sighed, exhaling a lung full of smoke as she sat on the couch. She set a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of milk on the coffee table. "Eddie, I have to go to work in a few minutes. Eat your dinner." She beckoned.

Her son immediately set aside his toys and went to her side as instructed like a good boy. He set the plait on his lap and took a bite of his sandwich. It wasn't gourmet, but she loved him enough to make it. That meant the world to him.

She took another pull from her cigarette. "Your father will be home in a few minutes." She informed him. Eddie suddenly found it hard to swallow. "I hope he didn't carpool with his brother. How two men make a mess around here drinking a beer after work is beyond me. " She put out her cigarette in the ashtray, frowning. "Take a shower after you eat and head straight to bed. I don't want to hear your father bitch at me when I get home."

Eddie nodded. "Okay." He replied shakily.

"One more thing." She sternly looked him in the eye. "Your teacher called me this afternoon; woke me up out of a sound sleep. Did you pull another girl's hair in class today?"

Eddie froze. He hadn't meant to, but her pretty red pigtails just kept dangling in front of him. When he pulled she screamed, causing him to panic and yank harder. His mother sighed, brushing her bangs behind her ear. "Eddie, darling, baby, you NEED to stop acting so... so weird! These nights shifts at the hospital are killing me. I really can't deal with this nonsense right now. Be NICE to the girls in your class. DON'T let me pick up the phone and hear your teacher's voice squawking at me on the other end again-" Her tone became harsh as she grabbed him by the cheeks, giving them a painful squeeze GOT IT?"

He nodded yes, tearing up. His mother released him. Her expression softened. "No, no, don't cry. I didn't hurt you." She pulled him in for a quick hug. He doubled her enthusiasm, wrapping his arms around her tightly and nuzzling her. "Stop crying!" She insisted, stroking his short, dark hair. "No girl is ever going to want to marry a crybaby." She warned him. "Just... be good for me, okay?"

"Okay, mom." Eddie forced his eyes to dry with a deep breath. He continued to eat quietly. She patted him on the back. "That's my darling. See you in the morning."

"I love you, mom." By the time Eddie finished his sentence she had already grabbed her keys off the coffee table, stood and left out the back kitchen door.

Eddie finished his sandwich and drank his glass of milk. He put his plate and glass in the sink per routine. Instead of heading to the bathroom he turned back to the living room. The commercials were over. He wanted to catch the end of the program. What his mother didn't know wouldn't hurt him. He would shower immediately after, he argued inwardly. He sat on the floor, picked up his toy car, scooting it along back and forth as he watched the last few minutes of Leave it to Beaver.

His heart dropped into his stomach as the back door opened. Eddie's eyes remained glued to the TV, body frozen in a state of primal fear. He heard the fridge door swing open then slam shut. He then heard the unmistakable sound of bottle cap popping off a bottle of beef as his father's heavy work boots drudged across the living room carpet.

His father exhaled a deep, exhausted sigh as he plopped on the couch and kicked off his boots. One his Eddie on the small of his back. He flinched. "Why are you watching this crap?" The older man asked as he kicked up his feet on the coffee table.

Another man walked in, shorter and shabbier in physique than his father, but still maintained the Gluskin family resemblance in the face. His uncle made Eddie's skin crawl. "I got ya." His uncle bent over and switched the channel before joining his older brother on the couch.

Eddie's father slouched, putting one arm over the back of the couch in an almost seductive fashion. "Son?" He addressed Eddie affectionately. "Aren't you going to greet your old man?"

"Hi, dad." Eddie swallowed harshly. " How was work?"

"Shitty like always. Glad I'm home. Come here, enjoy some guy time with us."

The sound of his father's voice made the room temperature plummet. Eddie felt frozen with fear; he couldn't bring himself to look back.

"Don't make me get off this couch."

He knew the if he dawdled or resisted they would only hurt him worse. White as a sheet and shaking, Eddie stood. His uncle stared at him intently with a sick, toothy grin. His father's smile was more subtle but equally lecherous. He climbed on the couch between the two of them, every muscle and organ cramping with fear.

His father put his arm around his shoulder.

From that moment on it proved to be a long and painful night for poor little Eddie Gluskin.


End file.
